Page 1 of The Princess & the Prospect

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Age 14

Dear Diary,

I can’t wait until I can get married and move out of this nuthouse my family calls a home. My mom is being weird all the time. My sister is so emo I honestly don’t want to be around her, and my brother – who used to be her best friend – isn’t around much either. He probably came to the same conclusion about Ever. She’s just unhappy, and I don’t know why. Daddy gets us anything we want. I know when I ask, he’s right there to get me whatever I ask for. Only, he has been riding out to the clubhouse more these days for some reason so I haven’t actually been able to ask for things. Not that I was spoiled and took advantage, but Daddy lived to make me happy. I’m sure it was the same for both Toby and Ever too.

Can you see why I want to just get married and move out though? I don’t want to know what makes Ever sad, why Toby stays gone all the time, or why Daddy doesn’t come home all that much anymore. None of those things are bound to make me happy, and all I want is to be happy, write my stories, and raise my babies with a man who loves me more than anything in the world. That’s not too much to ask, is it? It’s my dream, and I plan to make it come true.

I mean that too. Everything is all planned out in my head and in my little memory books. I’m going to meet the man of my dreams just before I graduate high school so I don’t have to rush off to college or something else that will waste my time. We’re going to start our family while we’re young so we can have plenty of energy for those babies and still get to enjoy our lives once they’re out of the house. It’s my life plan. My wedding is going to be spectacular too.

I already have my dress picked out. It’s going to be an amazing ivory gown with tons of lace and a train so long it trails down half the length of the church aisle. My bridesmaids will be wearing peach and cream floor length dresses and the same color ribbons will be tied to the backs of all the pews in the church. My bouquet will be created using peach Dahlias and white garden roses. It will be tied together in ivory and peach satin ribbon too. My makeup will be done in light tones to compliment the colors as well. My handsome husband would have a peach Dahlia pinned to the lapel of his tux, only he’d tell me that the flowers paled in their beauty when compared to me. We would dance the night away under the stars of a beautiful spring night – because we’d melt in the summertime here in Charleston even when the sun went down – and then he would whisk me away to our honeymoon where our first born would be conceived.

Are you swooning yet? I know I am. My dream is lush, and I don’t plan on settling for anything less.

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